A Substantial Mirage
by Penelope Hope
Summary: When Serena realizes that she no longer is who she thought she was, she is plunged into the joy and mysteries of Camp Half-Blood.


_"Danny,_please _be quiet," I stressed to my younger brother. For hours he had been bouncing up and down in his seat and saying non-stop, 'We're going to Long Island! We're going to Long Isl- oh, Dad! This is our exit, I-80!' As smart as my brother was, he was starting to get on my nerves._  
><em> "Sarah, calm down, he's just excited," Mom said gently. I nodded and settled back in my seat, fingering my necklace. I looked sleepily out the window and watched the rain pour down the window, feeling my excitement build. I had just gotten off school three whole weeks earlier than everyone else and with both of my sisters grown up and married, I was the oldest. That being said, I was about as stoked as a twelve year old kid could get. Smiling to myself, I fell asleep.<em>  
><em> I woke up with the hairs on my arms and neck prickling. Without knowing why, I said to Dad, "Stop the car, Daddy."<em>  
><em> My dad glanced in the rearview and said, "Sarah, we're almost-"<em>  
><em> "<em>STOP THE CAR_," I cried urgently, "_PLEASE, DAD_." Startled, he pulled over and I flung myself out of the seat and all but tore the door off of the car. As I got out I said urgently, "We have to get out, hurry, we've got to-"_  
>BOOM.<br>_ The world exploded and I was flying through the air._  
><em> I woke up in a tree. Now, I wasn't immediately freaked out, because I've woken up in trees before. I like to go exploring, much to my parents' dismay. My parents. I sat up, only to be rewarded with an intense pain in my right arm. My head swimming, I tried to make sense of what I was hearing.<em>  
><em> "-no known survivors, but officers are looking in the area to see if anyone may have gotten out safely. We regret the loss of this family of three. If anyone has any information about this explosion, please call-"<em>  
><em>I stopped listening as my eyes blurred. Dead? How could they be gone, just like that? Why hadn't they felt it? My hand flew to my necklace like it always did when I was nervous- or scared. I was relieved that I still had it. My mom had given it to me.<em>"A gift from a friend," _she had said. I blindly climbed out of the pine tree I was in and froze, looking into the eyes of- a dragon? I was terrified beyond words as the thing snarled at me, even though I knew I had to be hallucinating. Dragons didn't just appear, did they?_Oh, no…  
><em> "Peleus, peace!" I jumped at the voice and spun around as I heard a horse approaching. It was a centaur. What is this? I thought, First dragons, now centaurs? Maybe I hit my head too hard. "Child," said the man, "Who are you?" Reluctantly I looked up into his eyes and babbled, "My name is Sarah, uh, sir. Well actually, my real name is Serena, but most people just call me 'Sarah', because that's easier to pronounce. Uhm, I should be-"<em>  
><em> "Come with me, child," the centaur said looking at me with a concerned and yet calculating look on his face. I blinked at him, nodding. He knelt, as if he wanted me to mount his back, so I cautiously walked up to him and got on.<em>  
><em> Now, many people would think, "Oh, that's likely, your family tragically dies, and you meet some horse-man and just agree to get on his back to some unknown place." The truth is I was so shell-shocked that it seemed like, well, my family was just going to follow me and this horse-man, so I had no second thoughts about getting on his back. As he trotted over the crest of the hill, I asked hazily, "Sir, what is your name? Where am I?"<em>  
><em> He replied, "I am Chiron. Welcome to Camp Half-Blood." And I fell off his back.<em>  
><em> It was the start of a whole new chapter in my life.<em>  
><em>-∑APPA<em>

I stared at my name, written in Greek. I never liked reading my passages that I had written from my stay on the island, but sometimes I had to go back and read it, to make sure it all really happened. Yes, my life had really been torn to shreds, but those shreds acted as kindling, lighting the way for a new life on the same day. After meeting Annabeth that first day, my life took a happier turn. Though I was a bit more solemn then I might have been if my family hadn't just been ripped from my life, I was fairly happy and content. For a few days, at least. I flipped a few more pages in my book, until I came across one passage in particular;

_ Annabeth was- and still is- such an amazing friend to me. I never really had any friends before, people calling me 'a bit strange', so I really cherished having a friend. I couldn't help notice, however, that Annabeth seemed a bit down most of the time; I hardly ever saw her smile for the week and a half I was at camp. In fact, the more time wore on, the more and more anxious and down-trodden she seemed. On the day Annabeth took me into the woods for the first time- about, oh, a week or so of me having arrived at camp- I asked her what the trouble was. She was silent for a long while, glancing about as if she wished a monster would come to distract me. Eventually, she sighed and looked at me, and when I looked back I was startled to see that her eyes were red._

_ "It's- it's my friend, Percy," she said miserably. "He- we- we were on a quest a few weeks ago, and we wound up at Mount Saint Helen's and…" she paused and was silent for a bit. I was almost expecting her to not continue, and I was surprised when she stated, "I kissed him." I didn't say anything, but I looked at her, and she continued, "There were these monsters –telekhines- and they were- well, the point is, he said that… that he'd stay behind and for me to go back to camp," her voice was staring to diminish, "and he said he had a plan. So I kissed him."_

_ Just then a nasty beastie leapt out of the tree, and Annabeth shot it right through the eye. I was about to congratulate her when I saw the tears rolling down her face. She sat down hard on the ground and cried, "And I came back, ten days ago, and he's still not here!" She hiccupped and kept on sobbing those heart-broken sobs. "I should have never trusted Seaweed Brain! What kind of a person am I, leaving him alone in a volcano full of monsters?" she screamed and then collapsed on the ground, shaking uncontrollably. And all I could do was sit down next to her, and to try and be the friend I couldn't be. _

I turned the page again, to a new entry.

_ After the scene in the forest, Annabeth was a lot more open with me. When she and I did border patrol, she told me about her dad, who was this incredible guy who liked airplanes, and her step-mom, who she had grown closer to after she had been kidnapped by a manticore named Dr. Thorn (weird, I know). And once, she even told me a bit about Percy._

_ "He's a fantastic guy, my best friend. He's really smart, even though I call him 'Seaweed Brain'. I first called him that because he asked me this really stupid question when we were twelve… I don't even really remember what it was of anymore… but over the years, it's turned into a term of endearment, I guess," she turned to me and then said with some urgency, "But don't tell him I said that, alright? I mean, when you meet him… if you…" she turned away from me and was quiet the rest of the night._

I closed my book and laid back in the sand, staring up at the sun, my only companion. Annabeth hadn't sent me an Iris message for about three years, but I was sure she was busy. Hermes hadn't come for a while since there were no messages he needed to give me. In fact, none of the gods had visited for awhile because- well, visits weren't to be expected from them; they were gods after all… Still, you'd think that they would come once in a while, out of courtesy. Even after all those years on the beach, I still couldn't believe what sort of burden the gods had put on me.

Nine days after I arrived, Annabeth decided that I should learn to shoot a bow and arrow. She took me to the archery range, where we met Chiron, who looked a little worried. "Ah, Sarah, I should talk to you." He looked pointedly at Annabeth and they sort of had this silent conversation with their eyes.

_ But she's just starting to get used to it here,_Annabeth seemed to say.

_I know, but she must meet them and find her path,_Chiron returned. With that being said (or not being, whichever), Chiron turned to me and said, "Come, child, we must take this conversation to the Big House," so I followed, a bit reluctantly, looking back at Annabeth. I wasn't unduly concerned; it was just that from what I had heard about the Big House, well, only major stuff happened there, so I was a bit anxious. Plus all that '_finding my path'_ stuff didn't make me feel real confident that I'd get to be a happy camper much longer.

Trying to recall something, I furrowed my brow. I sighed and opened the book again.

_ The Big House, it's amazing. I had seen its exterior, of course, but the inside was something else entirely. It was sort of like a farmhouse, which I guess it was, in a way. I grew up in a farm house, or well- never mind. Chiron took me to this room with a Ping-Pong table, which Annabeth had told me where they had all their meetings. In Ping-Pong room was this peculiar little man with a Hawaiian shirt, and he had about twenty cans of Diet Coke by him on the table. I saw him every day sitting up at the table in the pavilion with Chiron, but I had never asked Annabeth who he was. Some sort of camp director, I had thought. He looked up briefly and looked at me with distaste. With a touch of annoyance he said, "Oh, another one? Who are you?"_

_ I looked uneasily at Chiron, then looked back to the Hawaiian dude and said, "Uhm, I'm Serena, sir. But most people call me-"_

_ "Great, great, welcome to Camp Half-Blood, I'm Mr. D."_

_ I looked at him and said, "Mr. D? Does that stand for something?"_

_ He looked at me like I had two heads and said, "Only one other person has ever asked me that. Names have power; you don't just go around using them." I looked down at me feet and then realized Chiron was, too, staring at me._

_ "What?" I demanded. "Who else asked it? Why is it such a big deal that I asked that?"_

_ Chiron looked at me again and said, "The only other person to ever ask that question is a person who we have lost. His name is Percy Jackson."_

Let me explain something. When I said, "Why is it such a big deal that I asked that?", it was more of a rhetorical question than anything else because Mr. D and Chiron were seriously wigging me out with all their staring at me. I didn't actually want an _answer._ So I was really quite surprised when I went to Annabeth later that evening and talked to her about it. She looked at me, too, and said, "Well, that's exactly what Percy said."

A little frustrated, I said, "Yeah, I know that, but why is it so important? It was just a simple question. " Annabeth hesitated then explained that Chiron had this prophecy type-thing that said that there would be a girl who'd follow Percy's 'footsteps'. "Whoa, hold up," I interrupted, "There's this prophecy about _Percy?_I mean him, specifically? And you think I'm a part of it?"

Annabeth just shrugged and said, "Well, not him specifically, but Chiron thinks that Percy's the guy the prophecy is referring to, and Chiron thinks that you might be the girl."

"What else?" I asked, "What else does it say about me?" But no matter how much I pestered her, she wouldn't tell me. I digress.

_ "Sit down," Chiron suggested, "There's a lot to tell you." I sat down on a folding chair and crossed my arms, waiting. Chiron sighed and said, "I have heard that you are very important."_

_ I laughed a little and said, "I'm only twelve; I'm not important to anyone."_

_ Chiron shook his head and said, "No, not mortals, but to the gods and everyone in our world."_

_ To tell you the truth, I was a little put out. I understood what Chiron meant- Annabeth had explained to me all about the gods and such practically the day I arrived- but me? How could I possibly be important? I shook my head at Chiron and said, "No, no way. I'm not even a half-blood. I'm a mortal- I've got-" I paused and didn't continue._

_ "Child," Chiron said gently, "I'm going to tell you something, which may come as a shock to you."_

_ I waited._

_ "You're family isn't real."_

_ Well, that, if you could imagine, made me stand up pretty fast. I jumped out of my seat and all but shouted at Chiron, "Of course they're real! I grew up in Michigan my whole life on a farm; with my family! My Mom, Dad, and siblings! How can you say they aren't real? Was the time I fell out of tree and my dad caught me not real? Was the time my Mom and I sat on the porch waiting for my sisters to come home from school not real? Was the time I went to the hospital to visit my Mom and hold my new baby brother not real?" I realized I was crying and I crumpled down onto a chair and sobbed for quite some time, with neither Chiron nor Mr. D saying anything._

_ Finally I sniffed and looked up. I croaked, "How can they not be real?"_

_ Chiron stared at me sadly and said, "They were a more substantial mirage, child. The reason your family never heard from your sisters was because once they left, they faded. Your family didn't die in a car explosion; that was simply them fading, and you were blown free by the force the fading caused."_

_ "But the reporters-" I stared at him, too numb to comprehend_

_ "The reporters are mortals that think a car exploded. They had found no one because there is no one," Chiron replied quietly._

_ Mr. D cleared his throat and I jumped, have forgotten that he was in the room. "Now," he said, "That you are here, we need to take you to Olympus to determine who you are."_

_ "Who I am?" I sputtered bitterly, "I know who I am; I'm a girl that has no family."_

_ Chiron countered gently, "You're a very powerful girl who can help us, and we need to know who you really are. You came from somewhere."_

_ I glared at the two of them, and then sighed, "Fine. When will we go?"_

_ "Tomorrow," Chiron told me, "You can go."_

_ I stood up from my seat and stalked out of the room, a broken girl with an unknown destiny._

I was a melodramatic little thing, wasn't I?


End file.
